New law will make community mapping illegal

By SAM

Press Statement

2001-10-31 | A new bill to be introduced in the Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) today, the 31st of October, will have a devastating impact on the ability of native people to defend their Native Customary Rights (NCR). At first glance, the bill (Land Surveyors Bill 2001) appears to be a reasonable set of rules regulating the surveying profession. It creates a Land Surveyors Board to regulate the activities of land surveyors. But because of the wording of the bill, many community initiatives can be declared illegal.

A new bill to be introduced in the Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) today, the 31st of October, will have a devastating impact on the ability of native people to defend their Native Customary Rights (NCR). At first glance, the bill (Land Surveyors Bill 2001) appears to be a reasonable set of rules regulating the surveying profession. It creates a Land Surveyors Board to regulate the activities of land surveyors. But because of the wording of the bill, many community initiatives can be declared illegal.

Community map making has been an increasingly important tool for the indigenous communities in Sarawak. For people struggling to prove their land rights, the making of a map has been a necessary step in getting the boundaries of their lands recognized. In Sarawak, numerous NGO's have assisted communities in making maps of their village boundaries. These maps have then been used as evidence in court cases, as a resource management tool, and many other purposes. Earlier this year, the Rumah Nor case was a huge success for the recognition of NCR lands, and maps made by NGO's and the people of Rumah Nor were vital evidence in that victory.

Now, all of this work is threatened by this shocking new bill.

According to the bill, only licensed surveyors can make most types of maps, and anyone else who makes a map would be breaking the law. Most importantly, any maps that show "the delimitation of the boundaries of any land, including State land and any land lawfully held under native customary rights" can be done only by a licensed surveyor. For years, community activists have made dozens of maps in Sarawak showing community boundaries, using mapping teams well trained in GPS (global positioning systems) and GIS (geographic information systems) technology. Now, if any such mapper "certifies as to the accuracy of any cadastral land survey or signs or initials any survey plan", they "shall be guilty of an offense and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand Ringgit or to imprisonment not exceeding three years or to both for each offense".

Unfortunately, these mappers working with communities cannot simply become licensed surveyors. Under this new law, the Board of Land Surveyors has complete power to decide who is certified and who is not. Community mappers do not possess the necessary professional degrees that will be recognised by the Board of Surveyors. Even those with all the necessary university degrees and experience can be turned away without explanation by the Board. They can furthermore revoke anyone's license at any time. It appears the board will be controlled by the Department of Land and Survey (the Chairman will be the Director of Lands and Surveys, the Deputy Chairman will be the Assistant Director, and so on), so there is little opportunity to influence the board's composition.

This law is truly without precedent, both in Malaysia and around the world. Peninsular Malaysia for instance has a Board of Land Surveyors, but there are no provisions there to restrict community mapping. Activists around the world are using mapping as a tool without any legal restraint.

Why is the government of Sarawak the only government to criminalize community mapping? Clearly these provisions are a reaction to the Rumah Nor legal victory, and are an attempt to defeat the right of indigenous people to prove their community boundaries. Numerous recent cases show that the Sarawak courts are willing to legally recognize maps made by communities and NGO's, But this new law would usurp the functions of the judiciary by not allowing the courts to make a decision over the admissibility of mapping or survey evidence conducted by community efforts, as done in the Rumah Nor case and other cases. Now only this new Board would have the power to determine which maps are legally valid.

The Department of Land and Survey has mapped only a very small percent of NCR boundaries until now, and if they start on a major effort to do so, it will take decades to complete. Even then, these maps will have little validity if government surveyors don't consult with communities about their boundary lines. The government also knows that most communities cannot afford to pay a licensed surveyor to map their boundaries, if in fact surveyors will be willing to risk taking on such jobs at all in the wake of this ruling. Community mappers has served a vital roles neglected by government surveyors. Without any map to indicate the extent of their lands, communities will be increasingly powerless to oppose the claims of logging, oil palm and other companies on their lands.

Around the world, indigenous land rights are increasingly recognized. Even in Sarawak the courts have been increasingly progressive on these issues. Only the Sarawak State Government is moving in the opposite direction. Under the guise of a procedural surveying law, the government is adopting a very regressive policy to suit their own vested interests, and denying indigenous people their rightful claims. This law will be another black mark in the treatment of indigenous peoples by the Sarawak State Government.

If the purpose of this bill is to prevent the making of fraudulent maps by unqualified personnel, we agree with that aim. But there is no reason for such a law to make the struggle for land rights into a crime. Sahabat Alam Malaysia calls for the following sections to be struck from this bill:

- Section 20 (Approval of cadastral land surveys);

- Section 23 (Illegal practice)

If the government is sincere in respecting indigenous land rights, it needs to make these amendments immediately.